Realigning our Investments and Reducing our Workforce

March 21, 2023

3 min read

March 21, 2023

3 min read

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Team,

Over the years we’ve made many changes to how Workhuman operates, but none is harder than the one I’m sharing today. We’ve made the extremely difficult decision to reduce our global workforce by approximately 10% of our Humans - teammates and friends who have helped build Workhuman to what it is today.

There are many reasons for this reduction - we need to realign our investments with new strategic initiatives and opportunities, we need to balance for growth and profitability, and we need to exercise prudence given the volatile macro environment.

But make no mistake, putting these business reasons aside, this is a human moment like none other we have faced. At all levels in our company, and in all locations, dear colleagues will leave through no fault of their own. This affects the lives of those who will leave, and those who will remain. Some will lose good friends and I know that can make you feel unmoored. I am committed to leading us through this with the values that we hold dear. And I am truly sorry to those who will have their lives disrupted.

One of our most important values is Respect for All, and we will hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards. Equally, we will be as generous and as helpful as possible to those that are leaving.

Why we are here:

Our business is fundamentally strong and resilient. Our mission to make work more human is more important today than ever. This reduction is part of a broader set of organizational and strategic investment changes we’re making to ensure we continue to deliver growth and profitability, and invest in areas of the business that are most aligned with our strategic objectives and will deliver the greatest customer value.

But it’s important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we will continue to hire and invest in strategic initiatives that are critical to our continued growth and success. In fact, even with this recalibration, our workforce will remain larger than it was a short 12 months ago, ensuring sufficient capacity to achieve our ambitious growth objectives.

How we will support our Humans:

We know this will be a very challenging time for each person impacted. The senior leadership team and I are committed to treating all our humans with dignity and respect and acting thoughtfully, transparently and as generously as possible as we navigate this process.

We only hire extremely talented individuals with great experience, so we are confident that all our departing colleagues will move on with their career, and we are committed to helping that transition as much as possible.

Whilst there are small differences by geography, we will be offering severance of a minimum of 3 months + 2 weeks per year of service, the sum capped at 9 months. We will also pay out accrued unused PTO. Healthcare benefits will also be extended for a minimum of 3 months.

Looking for a new position can be a daunting project. To that end we have engaged outside consultants to work with each individual to help with resume building, coaching, guidance and job-seeking support.

We are also providing employee assistance services for mental health and wellbeing support for both impacted and remaining Humans globally.

We know that to suddenly lose your working laptop is another stressor, so departing employees can keep their current machine. We have a process with IT to get your machine back up and running with a clean operating system.

We’ve heard horror stories of people suddenly being shut out of all communications and facilities. I trust our people, so there is no need for such unhelpful measures. Departing employees will continue to have access to email, Slack and other communication mechanisms through the end of business on Friday, to allow for goodbyes and the sharing of personal contact information.

For those that are not leaving, this is also an upsetting time. For some, you may lose a colleague and friend that you have worked with for a long time. Remember, one of the keys to happiness at work is the community and friendships that we are all privileged to enjoy. Please take time to process these changes. In the immediate term, our full focus is on those departing. We are fully dedicated to their needs. It’s also a time to remember to respect everyone’s privacy and confidentiality.

The way forward for Workhuman:

Looking ahead, we are in a market that continues to grow, with a leading and highly differentiated solution. The opportunity is vast and it’s ours to realize. I am supremely confident in our resiliency, the health of our business, and our collective ability to focus our energy and investments to achieve short- and long-term success for our customers, our business, and our Humans. Whilst the macro environment today is a challenging one, as we’ve seen in similar cycles in our 20+ year history our offering can be especially helpful to our customers in such a time of uncertainty when the need for employee connection, engagement, wellbeing, and over-arching cultural advancement is more important than ever.

I want to extend my deepest thanks and gratitude to everyone who has contributed to Workhuman up to this point and to all of you who will continue to contribute to the next stages of our journey. Thank you for the focus, dedication, and resilience you demonstrate for us and our customers every day.

Best,
Eric

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